The Houston Texans have gotten off to about as rough a start as possible, as they are winless through their first four games of the season. While the offense isn’t having any trouble moving the ball, the defense, which was expected to be arguably the best unit in the entire league, has instead been among the worst.
With the team’s situation quickly becoming dire, you can bet that the front office is exploring different avenues to upgrade its roster. Across the league, the team surely took note of their former Pro Bowl running back, Joe Mixon, signing with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. However, that move has been dealt an unexpected update on Tuesday.
Seahawks Not Signing Joe Mixon After Failed Physical
A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mixon has been one of the better running backs in the pros throughout his career. In his first seven seasons, all of which were spent with the Cincinnati Bengals, Mixon surpassed 1,000 total yards five times, while also earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 (292 CAR, 1,205 YDS, 13 TD, 42 REC, 314 YDS, 3 TD).
Mixon was traded to the Texans ahead of the 2024 campaign, and he promptly put together the second Pro Bowl campaign of his career (245 CAR, 1,016 YDS, 11 TD, 36 REC, 309 YDS, 1 TD). However, Mixon would miss the entire 2025 campaign with a mysterious foot injury, and he ended up getting released by Houston in March.
With the Seahawks needing help at running back, they decided to take a closer look at Mixon, who has essentially disappeared from the NFL world over the past year-and-a-half. Initially, Seattle planned on signing Mixon to its practice squad, but after having him undergo a physical, it changed its mind and opted against adding him to the team.
As it turns out, the Seahawks decided not to sign veteran running back Joe Mixon to their practice squad after he underwent a physical for the team, per league source. Mixon will remain a free agent,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Texans Desperately Need to Get in the Win Column in Week 5
Mixon’s falloff has been quite confusing, simply because there aren’t many details that help explain why he has gone from being a Pro Bowl running back to an outcast that nobody wants to sign. It seems like he still may not be 100% healthy, and it is worth noting that he has dealt with a slew of off-field issues that could conceivably be scaring teams away.
Houston has its own problems to deal with, and while he’d ideally still be leading its backfield, that job has now been turned over to David Montgomery and Woody Marks. The Texans are fully focused on Week 5 right now, where they will square off against another winless team in their AFC South rival, the Tennessee Titans. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, and if Houston somehow doesn’t win this game, you can bet that big changes will be coming for this team.
Former Texans Pro Bowl Running Back Gets Dealt Brutal Career News